Sector developments and company hires

Moody's has upgraded the ratings of 148 classes of US structured finance securities wrapped by Assured Guaranty Municipal (AGM), Assured Guaranty (AGC) and their affiliated insurance operating companies, as well as one class of US securities wrapped by AGM. The securities impacted include certain RMBS and ABS notes. The move follows Moody's upgrade of the insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings of AGM to A1 from A2 and the IFS rating of AGC to A2 from A3.

Additionally, the rating agency has upgraded the ratings of nine classes of EMEA structured finance securities wrapped by Assured Guaranty UK (AGUK), including certain ABS, CMBS and repackaging securities. This action follows Moody's upgrade of AGUK’s IFS ratings to A1 from A2.

In other news..

C-PACE partnership inked

Nuveen Green Capital has partnered with real estate investment and advisory firm Clearwater Capital Management to expand Clearwater’s capital solutions offerings. Under the agreement, the two firms will launch Clearwater PACE, dedicated to C-PACE with the aim of more effectively meeting the rapidly growing demand for alternative financing solutions in the space.

Clearwater specialises in PACE financing across 26 US states, in addition to Washington, DC. C-PACE transactions across the US have eclipsed US$2bn and so far over 35 states have passed legislation to allow C-PACE financing.

EMEA

Federated Hermes has announced the hire of Christoph Lausecker as director on its private debt team. Lausecker will work across the private debt platform and focus on the German-speaking market, and will be responsible for developing the platform across the DACH region. He joins the international business from RiverRock European Capital Partners, where he advised on the RiverRock European Opportunities Funds in his role as principal of special situations credit. Lausecker has extensive experience in fund management and debt restructuring, he will be based in London and will report to Laura Vaughan, head of direct lending.

Schulte Roth & Zabel is set to expand its finance and derivative practice as it announces the hire of new partner, Martin Sharkey. Joining the firm’s London office, Sharkey brings over twenty years of CLO market expertise to the new role, with experience offering strategic counsel to managers, investors, and arrangers. Sharkey joins from Dentons, where he served as partner since 2016, and follows several other recent strategic additions to the firm’s practice. The team at Schulte Roth & Zabel hopes Sharkey will help develop its structured finance capabilities across the UK and US, and offer crucial cross-border expertise as the firm continues to expand.

North America

Clifford Chance furthers the expansion of its US structured finance business with the appointment of new counsel, Leah Feldman. Feldman will work across CMBS, RMBS, ABS and CLOs, and has extensive experience working across pooled conduits, single-asset and large loans, as well as both public and private offerings of the mortgage-backed securitises space. Feldman joins the firm in its New York office from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where she worked as an associate. With more than a decade of experience advising on structured finance, Feldman is the latest of several new hires as the international law firm works to grow its US securitisation business.

MidOcean Partners has made several new senior promotions across its credit team following on from a number of new hires at the start of the year. Robert (Tripp) Sullivan has been promoted to the firm’s investment committee, having been with the firm since 2016, and will continue to maintain his responsibilities as a portfolio manager for the firm’s opportunist and private credit strategies alongside his new duties. Additionally, Michael Levitin has been promoted to the position of portfolio manager, and will offer portfolio management and customised strategy across MidOcean absolute return fund alongside current portfolio manager, Ryan Dean. Finally, Carol Chung, Adam Goldberg, and Opal Leung have all been promoted to the position of principal, having been at the firm since 2012, 2017, and 2020, respectively.